candy canes and trying harder
by tobestardust
Summary: When Percy Weasley first met Penelope Clearwater, they were both fifth years, with their glasses falling down their noses and books in their arms. / for gge 2014


now, although I love percy and audrey, I couldn't resist writing this percy/Penelope when I saw the request. For the lovely Cheeky Slytherin Lass and the book thief challenge/competition on hpfc.

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candy canes and trying harder

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When Percy Weasley first met Penelope Clearwater, they were both fifth years, with their glasses falling down their noses and books in their arms. They had both been made prefects, and it was the second Prefect meeting when Percy finally looked up from his notes and paid attention to the blonde Ravenclaw sitting next to him.

Her name was Penelope, and her hair was dishwasher blonde and her eyes were the lightest blue in the world. Penelope was quite pretty when he took a good look at her, and she had the same ink stains on her hand as he did.

(on the tips of the fingers, gently smudged from half-hearted attempts at wiping them off)

He caught her eye when the Head Boy was droning on about the prefect schedules that Percy already had notes on, and both their smiles were small and timid. He walks her to her Common Room that night, and though they only talk about Transfiguration homework, it feels so good to talk to somebody who _gets_ him.

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Penelope Clearwater always did like how Percy Weasley took notes, with his nose almost touching the parchment and the constant scratching of the sound of quill on parchment. He wasn't the most handsome, but he looked nice in his own way, with his neatly combed hair and large eyes.

He was always rushing off to somewhere though, and he never noticed when she tried to call out to him. When he does notice her, he doesn't disappoint, walking her to the Common Room and carrying her books for her. Percy Weasley is the perfect gentleman, and he almost knows as much about Transfiguration as she does.

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They're constantly aware of each other now, so when Penelope saw Percy studying by himself at the library, she pulls up a chair across from him and they do their work in companionable silence. Even when Percy finishes, he waits quietly for her.

Her hair is longer than it was before, or maybe it's the way she holds her head when she reads, but it looks silky soft. Madame Pince is tapping her pen impatiently on her desk, waiting for the last two people to leave, but she doesn't rush them.

Penelope sees him, his bag packed and on the chair next to him, through the curtain of her hair, and even though she's not done yet, she puts her things away and lets him walk her. The next morning, Penelope is up at four in the morning, finishing the work that she should've done last night.

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Eventually, they start talking as they do their work, and neither of them rush to complete it, because the other is always waiting patiently. Percy tells her about his many siblings, and she tells him about the Muggle television shows her mother watches, and as they grow as people, they grow closer.

Both of them are so alike though, it is hard not to argue sometimes. He nags her about closing her inkwell one day, not for the first time, and then she points out how he's always paying more attention to his Prefect badge then her, and they both explode.

Then she yells, "I don't even know how I fell in love with you." And they both pause, and her hand is covering her mouth and he is still staring at her. Then he smashes his mouth against hers and it feels like heaven, because the other kisses they had shared before were hesitant and timid, but this, this is something else entirely.

When they break apart, their breaths ragged, she whispers, "You taste like candy canes." They both laugh and then it seems like their worries are forgotten.

(but worries forgotten are still worries)

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As her hair grows lighter with the spring months, and his skin grows tanner, the conversation lessens and the amounts of random snogging sessions increase. It feels like they should be growing closer, but the closer their bodies are, the farther apart they feel.

It turns into robotic motions, and on the train, when she should be introducing him to her family, they both give each other a kiss on the cheek goodbye, and part ways. When her parents ask her who she walked out with, Penelope is tempted to lie, to say that he is nobody, just a friend, but then she sees his face in her mind, and she waves him off as a fling. As the words leave her mouth, she is afraid that it might come to that one day.

(but he is Percy Weasley, and he is so wonderful sometimes, it makes her heart hurt.)

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The summer is better. The constant letters means that they actually talk now, and even the miscellaneous details of his everyday life makes it feel like everything is good again. She spends hours writing to him, letters nearly three feet long, as long as his responses. It feels good, almost like starting over.

The things they talk about are nothing like their conversations in real life, and without Percy's eyes constantly boring into hers, she feels less self-conscious about telling him about her dreams of doing the Quidditch commentary for professional games, and without the constant feeling of being judged, he tells her more about the situation at home. Penelope is glad he is not there to see the pity in her eyes. It is easier to be themselves when the other isn't judging them.

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At the station, it feels like it should feel, because Penelope is immediately wrapped up in his scent when they see each other, and he is whispering, "I missed you, I missed you, I _missed _you."

Her head is buried in his shoulder, and then she whispers, "We'll try harder, I swear," and she can feel him nodding against the top of her head.

When they grab seats together near the front of the train, she is nearly on his lap and they whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears. Her friends roll their eyes when they see them sitting together, and they ignore them for the most part. Even when they have to report to the Prefect's carriage, they hands are joined together, swinging between them.

They talk about the Weasley Quidditch Pitch, and Percy embellishes just a smidge, and she knows it, but she also knows that it makes him feel better so she doesn't say anything and causally changed the subject to the Appleby's recent win.

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Sixth year is hard, and the attacks are taking a toll on both of them. Percy is worrying about his sister, and it feels like Penelope has to constantly watch her back, and she can feel the chill that only comes with fear enveloping her. She hears hissing in the walls sometimes, and she takes to walking out of the library with a sweet little Gryffindor when Percy isn't there with there. Hermione Granger is a bright little witch, with a careful, prim attitude and bushy hair, and she does more research than Penelope does.

(she won't tell her why she's looking up serpents though)

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One day, both Percy and Penelope are wrapped up in each other, his hand tangled up in her hair, when the classroom door opens, and there is a gasp. It is little Ginny Weasley, her face bright red and mischievous, and Penelope's shirt is halfway undone, and Percy's glasses are on the floor, and this is not good, not good at all. It takes Percy a second to figure out who it is, but once he does, his eyes widen, and then Ginny is taking off down the corridor and Percy is running after her, and Penelope is still there, buttoning up her shirt and trying to fix her hair.

She props herself up on a desk, and decides to wait them out. Five minutes later, Percy pokes his head in. When he sees her there, he immediately starts talking. "I am so sorry, dear. I've talked to her about it, and she promised she wouldn't tell anybody, especially my family about us. It's all my fault, really." Penelope smiles at his flustered look, but then takes a minute to comprehend his words.

"Wait, what's wrong with her telling your family about us?" Percy is at a loss for words.

"Well, you see, I just don't think you should meet my family yet, you see, because -"

"Because why?"

(and then suddenly they are fighting all over again and this is not trying harder)

"I'm just not ready for you to meet them!"

"Is it because you're ashamed of me? Because that's that it seems like," says Penelope, getting the last word and storming out of the classroom.

(she supposes that humans like to watch a little destruction. sand castles, houses of cards, that's where it begins. because it is addictive, the yelling the anger, the fighting, and she hates it.)

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They do not speak for two weeks.

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One day, as she walks back form the library, Hermione Granger runs up after Penelope, out of breath and holding a piece of paper in her hand that she gripped tightly. "Penelope, wait for me!"

She stops walking to turn around to face the little girl. "What's wrong Hermione?" The girl holds up the paper triumphantly, then darts her eyes along the corridor.

"First, do you happen to have a mirror?" Puzzled, but willing to humor the girl, Penelope dug around in her bag for a mirror, then handed it to Granger. She opened the compact, then put it up in front of her so the reflection was of the corridor.

"The serpent, it's here, and it's dangerous." She talks some more, but eventually they both fall silent, looking into the mirror in hope that they won't be petrified like the others.

(it doesn't work though and when percy finds her lying in the hallway, he falls to the ground beside her and sobs.)

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Nothing is really the same after that. For a little while, they cling to each other because they have never known anybody else but then Seventh Year draws to a close and they both know that this, whatever it is now, has to end. They both promise to keep in touch, but we all know how that ends.

(not well, obviously, even though they only work two floors away at the Ministry and the other is only an owl away.)

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The occasional owl making passing attempts at getting together just stop. They end up having coffee with other people. She meets a Muggle postman who steals her heart and he meets a spunky witch at the office and then the meeting up is pushed aside. She can still remember the taste of candy canes, but the memory is dulled with time and really, she doesn't know if it's even worth the effort to remember.

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End file.
